thaw. 397 
they frequently extend in particular parts of 
the river, and so solid are they at the same 
time, that in crossing from shore to shore, the 
people instead of being at the trouble of going 
round them, make directly for the ice, disem¬ 
bark upon it, drag their bateaux or canoes 
across, and launch them again on the opposite 
$ide. As long as the ice remains in the St 
Lawrence, no ships attempt to pass up or 
down; for one of these large bodies of ice is 
equally dangerous with a rock. 
. The rapid progress of vegetation in Canada* 
as soon as the winter is over, is most aston¬ 
ishing. Spring has scarcely appeared, when 
you find it is summer. In a few days the 
fields are clothed with the richest verdure* 
and the trees obtain their foliage. The vari¬ 
ous productions of the garden come in after 
each other in quick succession, and the grain 
sown in May affords a rich harvest by the 
latter end of July. This part of the year, in 
which spring and summer are so happily 
blended together, is delightful beyond descrip¬ 
tion ; nature then puts on her gayest attire ; at 
the same time the heat is never found op¬ 
pressive ; it is seldom that the mercury in 
Fahrenheit’s thermometer then rises above 
8i° : in July and August the weather becomes 
warmer, and a few days often intervene when 
the heat i? overcoming; during these months 
